Our pastor delivered his sermon from II Corinthians, and explained to us how we are ambassadors for God on earth. It reminded me of a teaching I did for our Lay Pastor community many years ago. I dusted it off to share today for your consideration…

These are essential attributes of a faithful ambassador:

Trustworthy. He/she will represent the interests of the sending authority– Remember who the Sending Authority is

• Has the full credit and authority of the sender– God has given us all that we need. Like Moses, our staff in our hand is enough! We don’t go in our own strength, but that of the King.

• Is empowered to act on behalf of the sending authority– God has chosen to limit Himself by sending us broken vessels to propagate the Kingdom on earth. He has empowered us to deliver the news of His love and salvation!

• Trusted not to exceed authority vested in her/him–We can do nothing without Christ, nor should we want to act outside our given authority. 

• Spreads good will on behalf of the sender– Our job is to win friends for the Kingdom, not win arguments. Judging others does not win friends!

• Understands the customs and culture of where he/she is sent– We are in a foreign land, but we need to respect the customs to gain a hearing.

• Understands the mission given by the sending authority– Our mission is to love people into the Kingdom, to reflect the loving nature of God.

• Speaks with the authority of the president/leader– God has given us Truth as the standard so we speak the truth in love to others. We speak the truth boldly toe who do not understand it.

• Maintains close, regular communication with the sending authority We can do nothing without prayer as a connection to our Sender

• Citizenship remains in the sending country– Remember who we are and whose we are. Our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God.

• Must learn to understand and affiliate with foreign assignment without losing sight of the mother country and citizenship. In the world, but not of it…

• Helps to protect the interests of fellow citizens in a foreign land– Above all we must tend to the needs of brothers or sisters in Christ as we journey this world together.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.                                                                  Galatians 3:28

Do you know anyone who had been in a Nazi concentration camp?

I did.

Yes, a distant memory, but as real as yesterday. My childhood playmate, Betty W. (I still don’t want to use her last name because I do not have her permission) introduced me to her mother when I was about 10 or 11 years old. Her mother, of Roma heritage from Hungary, had been sent to a concentration camp, and she showed me her inner forearm where she bore the tattoo of Nazi imprisonment.

I was too young to fully grasp what this meant. I wish that I had been older and I had been able to talk with her about what that meant in her life. Betty, along with Ray and Mary Jo were my neighborhood friends. We had great fun as playmates on Mayfair Ave. in Cheviot, Ohio (a Cincinnati suburb) where I grew up. Who knew that years later, I would reflect upon the realities of the horror that some of the generation ahead of me had endured?  

As I look back on those innocent years, I can also see that the presence of totalitarianism is always lurking in the shadows. The repression and control of years past has never really left, in the sense that there are still people who fear the “other”- people different than themselves.

Jesus was very clear that we cannot “other” people. We cannot say that some are “more equal that others”. Betty’s mother was not bitter as she showed me her arm. Maybe she was trying to send a message to future generations that people who are seen as “other” may be singled out for persecution.

I feel the need to pass that message on.

Prayer: Lord, impress upon us that discrimination because of race or culture is simply wrong and destructive, Amen

 “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Matthew 14:12-14

Jesus used various opportunities to teach his disciples. Once, on the way to a party of a prominent Pharisee, he chose to heal a man on the Sabbath. This was just the warm-up for future paradoxical teachings that day.

Upon arriving at the house of the Pharisee, he noted that people were jostling for position at the head tables. He told his disciples to pick the lower, less prominent seats. In that way, they could be asked to move up to the front. If they chose a front seat, they risked the embarrassment of being asked to move down in the social pecking order.

Finally, he told his host, When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.  But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

His message? Don’t follow usual social conventions. He was saying that his world view flew in the face of the world’s expectations. This is the concept of “contra mundum”. That is, going against the conventions of the world system.

We as Christians are always being asked to determine our values in light of how Jesus sees the world, not popular conventions. So, care for the poor and marginalized is a value that Jesus holds. We need to decide how that drives our own value system.

Prayer: Lord, help us to follow your road less travelled, Amen

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Out of the genius of Benjamin Franklin came the concept of the lightning rod. It is counterintuitive really since the object of the lightning rod is to get struck! As we know, the lightning rod absorbs the massive energy from a lightning bolt and thereby saves the building, on which it is perched, from harm. The lightning rod directs that massive energy to a safe place- the ground. The lightning rod is not harmed, usually, because it is an efficient channel to move the electricity to where it will cause no harm.

I was speaking with a couple the other day, and we discussed her role (unwanted) of being a lightning rod for her husband’s anger. While she is effective at deflecting his random energy into a safe place, and thereby allowing him to feel some relief, both needed to discuss this with another lightning rod- me.

I was not affected by their storm of energy and hurt, and therefore I was a safe place to absorb all that energy. I did not take it personally, and I was not hurt at all.

Jesus was a lightning rod of sorts too. He willingly accepted the wrath of those around him who did not understand him. Many believed that he was a threat to the current order and system of worship. He was. Jesus attracted such pent up energy because people saw that he was different, and therefore, a threat.

Jesus absorbed our sins and dissipated the harm that would come from them. He directed that energy into healing and salvation for humankind. His body paid the ultimate price for that, but he arose from death and emerged as an on-going source of peace to those afflicted with hurt and pain.

Maybe you as a reader sometimes feel like a lightning rod for those around you. Consider how that affects you, and how you function in that role. Sometimes it helps to see that lightning rods can be of great use, as long as we understand the process and our role in it.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see our role in turning pain into peace, Amen

That great philosopher, Ted Lasso, said the line “be curious, not judgmental” on his popular streaming series of the same name. Okay, Ted Lasso’s character was that of a soccer coach, not a philosopher, but he was truly good at both.

The series, Ted Lasso, arrived around the time of COVID-19 scourge, and boy, was that series ever needed at the time! Ted Lasso’s (Jason Sudeikis) gentle, optimistic philosophy on life, and his humility and open kindness were a real balm in the midst of the pandemic.

The line, be curious, not judgmental, has often been attributed to the poet Walt Whitman. After some rather cursory research, it appears that this is not actually correct. However, the source does not really matter- the truth of the statement matters.

As I have engaged various friends over the past months about our differing political opinions, the truth of the statement, “Be Curious” keeps resonating. Trying to convince one another is much less important than being curious and trying to understand why others think about things in a different way.  

Of course, this takes discipline and humility, and those are some of the virtues I appreciated most about the character Ted Lasso. I am far from perfect in this, but it is a great aspirational goal.

So, my friends, Be Curious!

I will be on vacation for a few days, and in the meantime, I am posting some “Best Of” reflections for your consideration. As always, I deeply appreciate your continued readership and support. I hope these reflections bring a little joy into your life.

If you want to read other material from the blog, check out the extensive archive on the home page…

Blessings, and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath.

Eckhart Tolle

I recently had a discussion with a client about the connection between sadness and anger. She has always had trouble getting in touch with the emotion of sadness, but instead she tends to become irritable and angry when upset with news that would normally elicit sadness.  

Upon further discussion of her history, it made sense that the client had tried to protect herself from sadness by getting in touch with an emotion over which she better understood and felt more control of- anger.

As I discussed this with her, I explained that irritability is often a characteristic of depression. People who are sad or depressed find it easier, or perhaps even more acceptable, to display anger instead. Anger may be more of a protection from the profound sadness that is so frightening for so many people.

We all get sad at times, and we all get angry at times. It is important to take the time and effort to really understand what is taking place in our internal emotional life. Only then can we effectively deal with either of these emotions.

Prayer: Lord, help us to take the time to look honestly and courageously at our emotions, Amen  

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.                                           Matthew 16:17

 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”                    Matthew 16:23

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16, in the space of just a few verses, Jesus tells Peter that he will become the rock upon which his church will be built, followed by an admonition that Peter had more human concerns than godly thinking.

Pretty wild sequence, right? Peter goes from favored child to clueless follower in a short space of time. Now, I am not a Bible scholar, but I think those actions came pretty close together in time. Peter was human, and he could have great insights, as well as thoughtless moments in a very short sequence!

Yeah, he was just like us. We make these kinds of mistakes all the time, yet Jesus never throws us away. Jesus did not strip Peter of his place as a leader just because of a thoughtless sequence of events. Peter was impulsive and passionate. That passion was the very reason Jesus chose him.

Yet, our greatest strengths become our greatest weaknesses if we do not manage them well. Peter was just like us. We have strengths that we must manage in order to become the most effective selves that we were designed to be.

Prayer: Lord, help us to manage our strengths well, Amen

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.  That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”  Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Luke 7:6-10

Here we see the story of the Roman centurion who was requesting healing for his servant. He was recommended by Jesus’ disciples as a good man who had helped build a synagogue. When he encountered Jesus, he showed faith, humility and wisdom.

Jesus marveled in the fact that this Roman showed more faith than the Jews to whom Jesus had been teaching. I am guessing that this was both a rebuke to the Jews in the town, and an affirmation to a person who did not have a rich faith tradition.

It seems to work that way in the gospels, doesn’t it. That is the paradox of those who were to follow Jesus. People of various states and backgrounds were drawn to Jesus, not by the roots of faith tradition, but through humility and openness.

We need simple trust and humility to gain access to the riches of God’s grace.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for such powerful examples like the Roman centurion, Amen

“The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!                                Luke 12:48 (The Message)

I recently looked at some statistics on charitable giving. Statistics can be interpreted in many different ways, so keep that in mind as I make some sweeping generalizations. I looked at giving in the United States, and I would encourage my international readers to check on giving patterns in your country. By the way, thank you again for my readers in Ireland, Canada, Germany Sweden, South Africa, Belgium, China, and India- as well as several other countries. I appreciate you!

The Bible states that to whom much is given, much is required. So true! Yet consistently, people in lower income brackets tend to give disproportionately more than their wealthy counterparts. Why is that? Probably a lot of reasons. People who attend churches which encourage a tithe may give a high proportion of their income- perhaps 10%.

Another possible explanation is that people with limited means understand the value of helping others who struggle with fewer resources. Those making less than $50,000 a year give more in relation to total income than those in all other income ranges except the highest earners.

Whatever the explanation, know that America is a generous country. Despite political and cultural diversions that tend to divide us, the American people give consistently to charitable causes that move them.

So, my dear friends, keep giving like somebody’s life depends on it.

That may well be the case.

Prayer: Lord, help us to continue to care for your people, Amen